The debut of UFC Primetime: St. Pierre vs. Hardy drew an astounding 1 million viewers during its initial run at 10:00 PM (ET/PT) – the highest rated “Countdown” show ever. In case you miswed it, here it is.

Strikeforce Challengers VII has a bout to add to its preliminaries as lightweights Ben Holscher and Alex Trevino are set to grace the cage, according to the organization on Tuesday.

The event will take place on March 26 from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, CA and, with the night’s main event being televised on Showtime.

Holscher is looking for his third win under the Strikeforce Challengers banner and is 4-0 with Strikeforce, including wins over Cody Canterbury and Johnny Goh.

Meanwhile, Trevino makes his fifth Strikeforce appearance; after opening his MMA career with four consecutive wins, he dropped a unanimous decision to Rico Altamirano at Strikeforce Challengers IV in November 2009.

With the addition of the Holscher-Trevino bout, Strikeforce Challengers VII is as follows:

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Ben Holscher vs. Alex Trevino

MAIN CARD

• Andre Galvao vs. Luke Stewart
• George Bush III vs. Ron Humphrey
• Zoila Frausto vs. Miesha Tate
• Lavar Johnson vs. Lolohea Mahe
• Justin Wilcox vs. Shamar Bailey

Elliot sent this in:

If you stand and strike with Andre Winner, you’re likely to lose. That’s the mantra the Leicester lightweight carries into the Octagon each and every time out. Blessed with blazingly quick hands and feet, Winner’s punch expertise is matched only by his confidence.

“I will fight any lightweight in the world in a stand-up battle,” says the 28-year-old, who most recently blitzed Rolando Delgado inside a round at UFC 105.

“There is nobody out there at lightweight who can compete with me and box with me. I’m talking about everybody. Don’t get me wrong, there are some good guys out there at 155, but nobody I’ve seen can match me for boxing or striking in general. I would trade with all of them.”

Though well-rounded and comfortable in various positions, Winner likes nothing more than entering a striking showdown with an opponent. The athletically-gifted lightweight punches with a technique and authority that opponents often lack. He sets up attacks with a sharp, range-finding jab and then launches follow-up shots with the sole intention of knocking his foe out. Rather than adapt his punching to MMA, Winner almost rattles off punches like a boxer – something that isn’t lost on the explosive lightweight.

“I wouldn’t call myself a boxer, because I think there’s more to my striking than just my hands,” he says. “I enjoy boxing, though. To be honest with you, I like to watch boxing more than MMA. Often when I watch an MMA fight, the fighters make it look so hard and knackering.

“Sometimes I watch boxing for guys like Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather and Roy Jones because they are so dominant and just exude confidence and skill in everything they do. Everything seems to be under control and measured with those guys. They make it look so easy. I can’t say the same about fighters in MMA. I sometimes watch MMA fighters and it reminds me of how hard my job could be. It actually makes me anxious and worried about my own fight.”

Winner isn’t the type to show any outward signs of anxiety or nerves. He slips in and out of range on opponents with a cool and clinical head, before launching two-fisted attacks at breakneck speed.

These tactics were showcased in Winner’s bout at UFC 105 in Manchester, the night he spectacularly felled Delgado with a right hand. Aware that he needed to drag Winner to the floor, Delgado was left in the wilderness by his inability to shoot on his opponent and the threat of the hands coming back at him. As a result, Delagdo was essentially a sitting duck for the flaming fists of a man hungry for his first UFC knockout win.

“The Delgado win was really pleasing,” recalls Winner. “Nothing’s ever perfect, but it went the way I wanted it to. I’m not going to let it get to my head, though. Yeah, I knocked someone out in the first round, but people get knocked out at every event in the UFC. It’s not exactly something unique or amazing. I expect that kind of performance from myself each and every time.”

Winner’s next chance to make good on his promise arrives on March 31st at UFC Fight Night. His opponent will be Rafaello Oliveira, having originally been lined up to face American Cole Miller.

“I’d been training for a few weeks before I heard that Miller had pulled out,” says Winner. “It was a shame, as it would have been a good fight, but these things happen in this sport. It didn’t bother me too much. In fact, it doesn’t really ever matter who I fight, as I’m one of those guys that will happily fight any lightweight in the world. If you want to be the best, you’ve got to fight the best. I want to be the best. I’m here to prove myself.”

Winner makes do with Oliveira and looks to chalk up knockout win number two on March 31st. The Ultimate Fighter season nine finalist accepted the fight blind – admitting he knew very little of Oliveira – but is simply happy to be fighting again. After all, when you beckon the entire lightweight division to a stand-up brawl, you’ve got to be prepared for all-comers.

“I didn’t know that much about Oliveira when it was announced,” admits Winner. “I’ve since done my homework and I’ve got a rough idea of what he’s all about. I’m really looking forward to it.

“He’s (Oliveira) an aggressive fighter, sets a good pace and has good ground skills. He’s not a technical striker and can be quite wild sometimes, but he doesn’t mind standing and banging if that’s where the fight goes. He’s got a good attitude to the fight when it’s going his way and is the kind of fighter that looks great when he’s on top.”

Oliveira has won 10 of his 12 professional mixed martial arts bouts and most recently defeated John Gunderson at UFC 108. Primarily a Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter, Oliveira has also scored four of his victories by knockout and has shown a willingness to strike when the mood takes him.

Despite this, Winner isn’t getting too excited about the possibility of showcasing his punch arsenal on March 31st. With the Delgado stunner still ringing in the collective ears of a division, Winner doesn’t expect too many lightweights to voluntarily test the credibility of his fists.

“I expect him to try and take me down,” admits Andre, 11-3-1 in his own mixed martial arts career. “He may sling a few punches here and there, but he’ll want to drag me to the floor as soon as possible. He’ll then try and grab whatever he can down there. He can give it a go, but I don’t think he’s going to get any joy with those tactics. I’m a fighter, I’m ready for a war and I’m not scared to fight him anywhere. I’ll beat him wherever the fight goes.”

With standards set high following his first-round victory in November, Winner now looks to keep the ball rolling against another jiu-jitsu exponent. However, while Delgado’s hesitancy allowed Winner to tee off at will and fully showcase his punching repertoire, the Leicester man enters the Oliveira bout with a slightly higher level of caution.

“I’d say Oliveira is small step up from Delagdo, simply because his wrestling is a lot better,” says Winner. “His wrestling will allow him to shoot on me a bit better. Delgado had problems shooting on me simply because he was so bloody tall.

“My sub-defence needs to be good, my takedown defence needs to be good and my scrambling needs to be sharp. So long as I keep all those things in check, I should be able to then dish out some of what I can do.

“I will make sure I sit down on my punches and mix things up. I’ll keep him going backwards and keep tagging him. Oliveira fights well when he’s on top and I want to take him out of that comfort zone. I’d love to just go out there and knock him out, but I’m prepared for everything. I’m looking to shut down everything he does, hit him with everything I throw and just keeping hurting him.”

An amiable and articulate individual, like any fighter Winner also boasts an intense mean streak. The Team Rough House slugger isn’t afraid to put his neck on the chopping block and unsettle a division. A long-time friend and training partner of Dan ‘The Outlaw’ Hardy, Winner seems to have plenty in common with the go-getting Nottingham star.

Furthermore, Winner’s mix of punch-power and self-assured boasts also recall another fighter who recently entered the UFC with big plans.

“The mad thing is, I’m a big boxing fan, but I can’t really remember watching James Toney when I grew up,” says Winner. “I watched loads of Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank during that era, but none of Toney. I think it was because my parents didn’t have cable television back then, so it was very hard to keep up with the American boxing scene. Toney never really fought on British television.

“Over the years I’ve since watched plenty of videos of Toney and he was an amazing fighter. He’s older now and a lot heavier than what he used to be, but as far as hands go he’s going to be second to none. He still needs to get someone good to work with and teach him about takedown defence and submission defence, though.

“He’ll need to keep every fight standing and just hope that people are foolish enough to think they can trade shots with him. Not only is he technically superb, he can also bang with either hand and has carried his power up through the weights. Toney can do it all, as far as boxing and punching goes.”

On March 31st Winner hopes UFC fans will be uttering similar statements about him – and then some.

Georges St. Pierre says he isn’t in fighting B.J. Penn in the Octagon again. We’ll see. A trilogy would be way cool and would be a great main event for a future UFC event.

H/T: Fanhouse

The hottest ticket in New Jersey just got hotter, as it has been announced that Playboy cover model and UFC All-Access host Rachelle Leah will be returning to her old gig as Octagon Girl for one night only on Saturday, March 27th at UFC 111 in Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center.

The Prudential Center in Newark, NJ is the venue of record for the official UFC 111 fighter weigh-ins, which will take place on Friday, March 26. The weigh-ins will begin at 3:00 PM (Eastern)/12 noon (Pacific), with the first fighter tipping the scales at 4:00 PM (Eastern).

In addition to the weigh-ins, the Prudential Center will also host an autograph session from 1-3:00 PM (Eastern) and a UFC Q&A session at 2:00 PM (Eastern).

The fight card for UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy is as follows:

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Fabricio Camoes vs. Kurt Pellegrino
• Jared Hamman vs. Rodney Wallace
• Tomasz Drwal vs. Rousimar Palhares
• Matthew Riddle vs. Greg Soto
• Nate Diaz vs. Rory Markham
• Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Brown

MAIN CARD

• Georges St. Pierre vs. Dan Hardy
• Shane Carwin vs. Frank Mir
• Jake Ellenberger vs. Ben Saunders
• Thiago Alves vs. Jon Fitch
• Mark Bocek vs. Jim Miller

The UFC 113 fight card is nearly complete as nine fights have been confirmed for the event, which is scheduled to take place on May 8 from Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

UFC 113: Machida vs. Rua II is as follows:

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Tim Credeur vs. Tom Lawlor
• Marcus Davis vs. Jonathan Goulet
• Mike Guymon vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
• T.J. Grant vs. Johny Hendricks

MAIN CARD

• Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio Rua
• Paul Daley vs. Josh Koscheck
• Kevin Ferguson vs. Matt Mitrione
• Jeremy Stephens vs. Sam Stout
• Alan Belcher vs. Patrick Cote

Image: MMAJunkie.com

Just as quickly as the 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter is getting ready to begin, the UFC reality show is already conducting tryouts for The Ultimate Fighter 12.

Spike TV officials have announced that they’ll host an open tryout on April 1 for lightweight and heavyweight fighters (155 pounds and 205 pounds, respectively); the tryouts will take place at the Omni Charlotte (North Carolina) Hotel’s ballroom. The UFC hasn’t hosted a TUF with the aforementioned weight classes since Season 9.

Regsitration for the tryouts begin at 8:00 AM (Eastern), with the tryouts starting at 10 AM. Fighters must arrive by 9:00 AM in appropriate workout gear.

The tryouts are being held in conjunction with UFC Fight Night 21, which is hosted by Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte. They will take place one day after UFN 21.

On hand to judge the competitors are UFC president Dana White, executive producer Craig Piligian, producer Jamie Campione and Spike TV executive Brian J. Diamond.

All fighters who apply and are trying out for the show must have three profesional fights on their belt and be at least 21 years of age; Fighters will grapple, hit pads and mitts and interview with show producers suring the tryouts.

Myatt sent this in:

At 22, Jon ‘Bones’ Jones may be talked about as the Next Big Thing in the UFC, but the phenom’s eye-popping abilities aren’t an accident. The 6-foot-3, light heavyweight phenom and former All-American Greco-Roman wrestler has a training regimen as unorthodox as the kicks and strikes for which he’s known. Each exercise is designed to push his muscles to the limit while training them to respond explosively.

Two months prior to any fight — such as March 21st’s headliner bout against Brandon Vera – Jonesstarts doing strength training and cardio three days a week. “We went by feel and used a lot of explosive exercises to train his muscle fibers to fire faster,” says Kelly Tekin, Jones’ strength and conditioning coach, “We also relied on a lot of heavy compound exercises to keep muscle on his frame.”

Here’s one example of a typical training day for Jones. To see any of these exercises in action, you can go to www.conditionedbytekin.com. 

AVERAGE DAY
1. Hang Clean (5 sets of 5 reps)
2. Barbell Push Press (8 sets of 5 reps: 30 sec. rest between sets)
3. Lying Leg Curl (6 sets of 6 reps)
4. Depth Dumbbell Snatch (4 sets of 4 reps)
5. Ring Twists (3 sets of 4 reps to each side)
6. Clean from Knees w/Jump (3 sets of 10 reps)
7. Medicine ball superset (run the cycle three times for a total of three supersets)
•    Medicine Ball Power Up (5 reps)
•    Medicine Ball Sprawl and Jump (8 reps)
•    Medicine Ball Plyo Push Up (8 reps)
8. One-Leg Straight Leg Walking Dumbbell Deadlifts (3 sets for 25 yards each)

Jones’ stamina is pushed with high-tech training equipment that challenges his muscles in ways usually reserved for fights. For example, Tekin would place a tackling dummy on top of a non-motorized treadmill (called the Tread Sled), then strap Jones into a vest with resistance cords attached to it. “I would push the dummy as hard as possible, as if I was doing a takedown, for 5-10 seconds,” says Jones. “Because I was being pulled backward by the cords, it’s a strenuous exercise that really builds up your explosive strength.”

Another unique tool Tekin used was the VertiMax—a platform with bungee cords attached to it that strap onto Jones’ hands, waist, knees and ankles. Tekin has him strap in, then do knee strikes, kicks and punches for 30-60 seconds at a time, switching stances (from traditional to southpaw) in between rounds. “The extra resistance made it difficult just to keep my hands up, let alone throw a punch,” says Jones, “After being tied into that thing, once I went to knee a guy without being strapped into the machine, it made my strikes that much more powerful in the Octagon.”